Organizations such as the Residence Halls Association are doing their part to educate and bring breast cancer awareness to students and faculty during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

RHA is hosting its sixth annual Paint it Pink week, a week devoted to breast cancer awareness and fundraising.

The organization is holding a donation center and T-shirt giveaway from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at Speakers Circle. The original plan was to begin Monday, but a delay in the T-shirt printing process caused RHA to postpone the event, RHA President Chris Rucker said.

In honor of Paint it Pink week, RHA representatives were encouraged to wear pink to their weekly Congress meeting Monday night. Members also had the opportunity to donate money and pick up a T-shirt at the meeting.

RHA ordered 600 shirts this year and also has a remaining 300 from last year.

Last year the organization sold roughly 600 shirts and raised more than $3,100. RHA hopes to increase these numbers this year.

“This year we had a T-shirt design contest among the RHA representatives,” RHA Speaker of Congress Kathy Rudd said. “A ton of people submitted and voted.”

The winning shirt is hot pink with gold paint splatter and “Paint it Pink” across the front with “MIZ” in black underneath. The back features the phrase “Get schooled about breast cancer/join the Zou and make a difference.”

Students who donate at least $10 to the cause receive a Paint it Pink T-shirt. Those who donate $3 will receive a Paint it Pink T-shirt with last year’s design. All proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Paint it Pink week coordinator Makayla Jackson said she hopes to raise $4,000 this year.

The $10 suggested donation is a $5 increase from last year, Rucker said.

“A lot of people last year paid more money (than the suggested $5) and were willing to pay $10 for a donation anyway,” Rucker said.

A new addition to this year’s activities is the participation of the women’s volleyball team.

Because of unsuccessful fundraising results last year, RHA decided not to collaborate with Shakespeare’s Pizza or any other companies or restaurants this year, Rucker said.

“We won’t be doing that again because we only raised about $30 last year,” he said. “It wasn’t really worth it to do it again.”

RHA will also be at the Women’s Center’s Love Your Body Day event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday on Lowry Mall to discuss the importance of breast cancer awareness and testing as well as collect donations and distribute T-shirts.

Paint it Pink week will wrap up with a partnership with Campus Dining Services. On Friday, Plaza 900 will offer pink-colored desserts for munching.

In an effort to be more sustainable this year, fewer paper signs will advertise the event, Rucker said. RHA is using Facebook and word of mouth to popularize the opportunity to donate to their cause. Each residence hall will receive one paper copy of the advertisement.